Early days (1961–1965) Jones' television acting debut was in the British television soap opera
Coronation Street, in which he appeared as
Colin Lomax, grandson of the regular character
Ena Sharples, for one episode on 6 March 1961. He also appeared in the BBC police series
Z-Cars. Following the death of his mother, Jones rejected acting in favour of becoming a jockey, commencing an apprenticeship with
Newmarket trainer Basil Foster. but this career was short-lived. Even though Foster believed Jones would be successful as a jockey, he encouraged his young protégé to take a role as the
Artful Dodger in a production of
Oliver! in
London's West End. When approached by a friend who worked in a West End theatre during the show's casting, Foster replied, "I've got the kid." Jones' portrayal brought him great acclaim. He played the role in London and then on
Broadway, and was nominated for a
Tony Award. On 9 February 1964, Jones appeared on
The Ed Sullivan Show with
Georgia Brown, who was playing Nancy in the Broadway production of
Oliver!. It was the episode of the show in which
the Beatles made their first appearance on American television. That night, Jones said, "I watched the Beatles from the side of the stage, I saw the girls going crazy, and I said to myself, this is it, I want a piece of that." Jones debuted on the
Billboard Hot 100 in the week of 14 August 1965, with the single "What Are We Going To Do?", which peaked at number 93. The 19-year-old singer was signed to
Colpix Records, a label owned by Columbia. His debut album,
David Jones, on the same label, followed soon afterward (CP493).
The Monkees (1966–1970) From 1966 to 1970, Jones was a member of the Monkees, a pop-rock band formed expressly for a television show of the same name. With Screen Gems producing the series, Jones was shortlisted for auditions, as he was the only Monkee who was signed to a deal with the studio, but he still had to meet the standards of producers
Bob Rafelson and
Bert Schneider. The DVD release of the first season of the show contained commentary from the various bandmates. In
Peter Tork's commentary, he stated that Jones was a good drummer and had the live performance line-up been based solely on playing ability, it ought to have been Tork on guitar,
Mike Nesmith on bass, and Jones on drums, with
Micky Dolenz taking the fronting role, rather than as it was done (with Nesmith on guitar, Tork on bass, and Dolenz on drums). Like Peter Tork, Jones, despite playing mostly tambourine or maracas, was a multi-instrumentalist and would fill in for Tork on bass when he played keyboards and vice versa and for Dolenz on drums when the Monkees performed live concerts. The Monkees officially disbanded in 1970.
Further stage and screen appearances (1977–1999) in the 1971
The Brady Bunch episode "Getting Davy Jones", in which he was a guest star Despite his initial high profile after the Monkees disbanded, Jones struggled to establish himself as a solo music artist.
Glenn A. Baker, author of
Monkeemania: The True Story of the Monkees, commented in 1986 that "for an artist as versatile and confident as (Davy) Jones, the relative failure of his post-Monkees activities is puzzling. For all his cocky predictions to the press about his future plans, Davy fell into a directionless heap when left to his own devices." The continued popularity of Jones' 1971
Brady Bunch appearance led to his being cast as himself in
The Brady Bunch Movie (1995). Jones sang his signature solo hit "Girl", with a
grunge band providing backing, On 21 June 1997, during a concert at the
Los Angeles Coliseum, Jones joined
U2's
The Edge onstage for a karaoke performance of "
Daydream Believer", which had become a fixture of the band's set during that year's
PopMart Tour.
Later career (2000–2012) In 2001, Jones released
Just Me, an album of his own songs, some written for the album and others originally on Monkees releases. In the early 2000s he was performing in the Flower Power Concert Series during
Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival, a yearly gig he would continue until his death. In April 2006, Jones recorded the single "Your Personal Penguin", written by children's author
Sandra Boynton, as a companion piece to her new board book of the same title. In 2007, Jones performed the theme song for the film
Sexina: Popstar P.I.. On 1 November 2007, the Boynton book and CD titled
Blue Moo was released and Jones is featured in both the book and CD, singing "Your Personal Penguin". In 2009, Jones released a collection of classics and standards from the 1940s through the 1970s entitled
She. In December 2008,
Yahoo! Music named Jones the "Number 1
teen idol of all time". In 2009, Jones made a cameo appearance as himself in the
SpongeBob SquarePants episode "
SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One" (his appearance was meant as a pun on the phrase "
Davy Jones' Locker"). In February 2011, Jones confirmed rumours of another Monkees reunion. "There's even talk of putting the Monkees back together again in the next year or so for a U.S. and UK tour," he told Disney's Backstage Pass newsletter. "You're always hearing all those great songs on the radio, in commercials, movies, almost everywhere." The tour (Jones' last with the Monkees) came to fruition and was entitled
An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour. On 12 February 2012, Jones played a set at
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City, and on 19 February 2012, he made his final public performance in
Thackerville, Oklahoma. ==Other ventures==